250AD:
This was still Salarakes' turn, but before I hit enter I make a trade round with Chemistry:
Netherlands pays 351 gold + 143 gpt;
Persia pays 118 + 14 gpt + Monarchy (Monarchy was for free; of course it doesn't mean anything to us);
Egypt gives Education (Egypt + Arabia had both zero money, so I took the tech from one of them).
Now that we've got Education, we see that the Netherlands have also got Astronomy. They've got a monopoly on it.
Turn science up to 80%.
Upgrade some units.
Move some units in the direction of Hattusha.
I'm selling the granary in the capital; no use anymore.
IBT:Hittite units attack a mountain of ours:
Hittite knight vs our knight > we win;
Hittite longbow vs our knight > we lose.
I would rather have placed muskets on that mountain, but we didn't have any.
The Netherlands learn banking. It shows they're at peace and running 80% science.
260AD:
Calakmul: barracks > musket.
I'm also noticing Calakmul is size 6, while it has an aqueduct, so I'm changing a tile to let it grow.
Quirigua: knight > worker (town is size 8 with a clown).
Kaminaljuyu: barracks > musket.
Our elite horse vs redlined longbow > we win;
Our vet knight vs longbow > we win.
Moving units further towards Hattusha
IBT: Our incense deal with the Netherlands expires. We renew it. Now costs 19 gpt + 9 gold.
270AD:
Capital: knight > knight.
Wheat: library > longbow (I like a few of those for their defensive bombard).
Quirigua: worker > knight.
Tulum: barracks > musket.
Mayapan: trebuchet > trebuchet.
Battle for Hattusha:
10 bombards; 5 hits + 5 misses. not bad.
Knight > win.
Knight > win.
Elite knight > win.
Elite knight > win.
Most effective is to raze this town, but razing dumbs down play so much, as you can just conquer the map without culture. This town is nicely placed, so I'm trying to keep it. We get 3 slaves.
IBT:
Netherlands and Persia learn Printing Press.
Persia complains about our galley.
Hittite knights are approaching a mountain near Golden Mountain, but I now have a musket to put on it (upgraded from a vet spear).
280AD
Sorry guys, I'm not going through all the builds anymore; it's becoming too much.
Our knight vs Hittite knight > win (after bombard).
Our galley on the other continent discovers a goody hut on a 1-tile island. Unusual.
Flip chance for Hattusas is showing as 6 - 10%; some maces can quell it.
290AD:
Our galley bumps into our last unmet civ: the Greeks.
They lack Writing. Scientific, huh?
Flip chance for Hattusha stiffly lowers, below 4% now.
Moving units towards next target, Aleppo.
Our knight vs Hittite knight > win (after bombard); have we got a nice bikini babe situation?:
Dropping science a touch, Metallurgy still in 1 turn.
IBT:
Adana is getting attacked by a Hittite knight that I couldn't see coming.
We lose the knight. We still lack proper defenders in some border towns.
We learn Metallurgy, but the trade options aren't great.
Persia and Netherlands both have Banking.
The Dutch have the best offer; Banking + 40 gold + 8 gpt. I decide to hold on to Metallurgy.
300AD:
Set research to Military Tradition, 80% science, coming in in 6 turns.
Moving units further in on Aleppo.
IBT: Greece complains about our galley.
Netherlands learn Metallurgy. I should have traded with them for Banking after all.
The wounded Hittite knight attacks Aleppo again, as I had nothing to counter attack it with. It loses against a mace that I had just brought in for defense (there was also still a reg spear).
310AD:
We found 021 Ek Balam, as we're drowning in settlers.
Our elite knight vs Hittite longbow > win (after bombard).
Eastern Tip produces a galley. I leave it there; it'll come in handy, but not just now.
Moving units further towards Aleppo (you can have read that 3 times by now).
IBT:
Hattusas has finishes Leonardo's Workshop.
Middelburg cascades down to Copernicus' Observatory.
320AD:
Battle for Aleppo:
7 bombards; 2 hits, 5 misses.
Vet knight > win.
Elite knight > win.
Our knight vs Hittite knight next to Aleppo > win, after 2 bombard hits.
Aleppo's placement means a whale can never be worked, but even if I raze it and place a town a tile further, I don't think we will be building culture there, so I keep Aleppo.
Upgrade some trebuchets to cannons.
IBT: Our deals with Egypt and Persia end. This means less income, but we're still running positive.
A Hittite knight and longbow attack a settler trio of ours (settler, musket, knight):
Hittite knight vs our musket > we win.
Hittite longbow vs our knight > we lose.
Funny; almost all my defending knight are losing, all my attacking ones win. We could still do with a few more muskets.
A bad one: Hattusha flips! Losing some medieval infantry and a musket in the process.
330BC:
I've got only 1 knight near Hattusha and no arty, but I'm taking a gambe; there might just be 1 regular pike on it after the flip. Well.. our knight loses.
We found 022 Tazumal.
Our elite knight vs redlined Hittite knight > win.
Our vet knight vs Hittite longbow > win and promote.
I'm turning up the lux slider a notch, anticipating increasing war weariness on the interturn. Military Tradition still in 3 turns. Some clowns/scientists can become citizens again.
IBT: A Hittite knight attacks our stack that's advancing on Ugarit. So we lose a knight again, because ours really don't win on defense.
340AD:
Again an attempt to retake Hattusha with 3 knights:
Our vet knight vs reg pike > we retreat.
Our vet knight vs reg pike > we retreat, no knight took off a hitpoint.
I have an elite knight left, but I'm not gonna bother. We lack artillery.
IBT: Hittite knight vs our musket near Hattusha: our musket wins without a scratch.
A Hittite longbow attacks our stack that's advancing on Ugarit. This time a knight of ours retreats; that's almost a top performance after all those losses.
350AD:
Battle for Ugarit:
Bombardment: Err, here's one you don't want to read: I destroyed the Great Wall. Sorry, I forgot about the game mechanics, it came back to me after the message of the Wall's destruction already displayed. Our artillery also destroyed the harbour and the library of Ugarit, but luckily also some units got hurt, so 3 knights took it without losses.
This is our front now:
Notes for next player:
I would do a trade now. Earlier I didn't trade for Banking, hoping it would become cheaper which didn't happen, but currently we can do a straight tech for tech trade with Egypt, and I would recommend that. We might also be able to get Printing Press perhaps.
I was always counting on a war declaration from the Netherlands in my set, as they're paying us a whopping 143 gpt, but it didn't happen.
Lux is at 30% in anticipation of a further rise in war weariness. I'm expecting that any moment. Each turn we're getting attacked by Hittite knights, and it'll get tougher the closer we get to their capital. My opinion is we shouldn't spread too thin, as we would make it too easy for the Netherlands to attack us then.